wedding ring

i've been getting lots of complements on my wedding ring. it's brushed titanium; simple, unfussy, ultra light & modern. nick's is a bit chunkier at a whopping 9 mm. i love how it looks next to all that color.

new

image via Rodel-LA

new day
new decisions
new outlook
new attitude

what's new with you?

fancy water

i was inspired to make this fancy water after our luscious dinner at The Stakeout (no one confirmed it, but i tasted a hint of cucumber in the water). sometimes i like to up the ante, so instead of adding a few cucumber slices, i add tons, along with several sprigs of fresh mint from our herb garden. i placed the ingredients in a glass jar, and then in the fridge for maximum chilliness. perfectly refreshing on a hot summer afternoon.

if i had magic hands... pt. 2

if i had magic hands, i'd turn these thai limes...

images via style.com

...into the Dries Van Noten spring '09 accessory collection.

goodness comes in many packages

we donated books to a local library via the book exchange at Book Soup. bonus: the famed Kogi BBQ truck was out back, luring us with all kinds of good smells. being a fairly new LA institution and all, we had to try a few. the spicy pork tacos were de-lish. after, we headed to Joan's on Third for a few sweet treats to go. these were scrumptious!


in case you wanted to check out their goods.


berry cheesecake.


mini apple pie.

farmer's market

we took the metro.


adorable squash blossoms.


tomato array & a few sweet onions.


oyster mushrooms.

with my heavy work schedule, it's not often that i get a free late-afternoon. luckily, i had the opportunity to visit 2 in the last 2 weeks, and grabbed all sorts of veggies. also-quite-crafty-in-the-kitchen-nick made a rustic tomato salad with red onion & basil, and this morning, a delicious oyster mushroom, shishito peppers, sage & egg scramble. we'll add the squash blossoms to quesadillas this afternoon.

vintage BLOWOUT, save 25%

some of our favs! seem these and more at tworavens.etsy.com

yes, it's true, in honor of our recent elopement, tworavens is having a Celebration Blowout--save 25% on EVERYTHING--from Wednesday August 12-Sunday August 16! we're having a party & making way for newness. and, because we haven't yet begun to make the changes to our shop, you have the advantage of snapping up choice items first. it might take us some time to update the entire list, so, if you have a favorite item that you'd like to purchase, just send us a convo, and we'll begin the process as soon as we can. hurry, hurry, first come, first served!

thanks for helping us celebrate!

if i had magic hands... pt. 1

if i had magic hands, i'd turn this pile of bougainvillea petals...


image via Style.com

...into this stunning Marchesa gown.

homemade miso soup

lately, i have been more creative than ever in the kitchen--drawing inspiration from all sorts of things. yesterday, we saw an episode of diary of a foodie, one of our most favorite shows on pbs. this particular show was dedicated to korean food--northern vs. southern, the long tradition of kimchi, and certified royal cuisine chefs. i LOVE kimchi, and since we just missed our opportunity to purchase the freshest-of-fresh batches at south pasadena's farmers market, we had to settle on another type of cuisine. we decided to use store bought miso paste to create a wonderful shrimp & vegetable soup. this might be the perfect soup for summer because you can eat it semi-warm, it's light in flavor, and not too hearty.

Day 17 (8.05.09) Grand Canyon, heading home

the grand canyon.


nick admiring the grand canyon.


if you look carefully, you'll see the raven flying in the photo. we were so high up we were able to see him from above which gave us an interesting perspective on his flying and diving skills.

we didn't spend much time at the Grand Canyon. maybe if we had walked all the way down to the bottom, we'd have been more excited. it was amazing, don't get me wrong, i think i was just expecting to be as blown away as i was by Zion and Bryce Canyon.


we left the Canyon around 1:00pm, and we made the quick decision to drive all the way home. on paper 7+ hours didn't sound so bad (we already did that 2 times), but we were so ready to be home that it felt like forever. not to mention it was over 105 degrees for a good portion of the drive. i'd like to send a personal thank you note to the fine people at Toyota who installed my wonderful air conditioner.

hope you enjoyed our travels into married life and throughout the southwest! if you're interested, please continue to follow this blog to check out some of our daily creative adventures...

xoxo,
christina & nick
tworavens

Day 15-16 (8.03-8.04.09) Flagstaff

Day 15: we arrived in flagstaff around 6:00pm. we settled into our room and then we (i mean nick) unloaded our roof bag. somewhere along the way, we decided to order pizza for dinner. it was such a nice evening, we were hoping to find a restaurant that allowed dogs on the patio. no luck. we did locate a fantastic pizza restaurant that allowed for to-go orders. yes!


we ordered a thin crust pesto-artichoke-sun dried tomatoes-pine nuts-ricotta cheese-basil pizza, with a side of marinara sauce and a spinach salad. everything was so tasty! and we're discerning pizza choosers.


fun alley art. i wonder who did this? it's not particularly styley or gangster-ish.


Day 16: we took a stroll through downtown, much of which was dog friendly. we ate tamales for breakfast at a restaurant that also served deep fried pickles. i was sure we'd either get a stomach virus or worse. but, luckily, we came out unscathed. later, we picked up lunch at the Flagstaff Brewing Co. we did a little research prior to our trip as we really wanted to try local micro brews throughout the states. their beer selection was disappointing; only 3 of their own beers on tap (really light pilsner-types). they did offer a heavy selection of california beers. their food, on the other hand, was great!


we chose to split the "stink burger" & substituted fries for homemade garlic potato chips. the burger had caramelized onions, 6-8 roasted garlic cloves and gruyere cheese melted all over. the chips were dipped into garlic oil, and then sprinkled with fresh, crushed garlic and fresh chopped cilantro. we actually turned into stink burgers ourselves! i couldn't get the garlic-taste out of my mouth for 2 days. well worth it.


we ate this fine meal at a local park in flagstaff. it was beautiful, dog and kid friendly, and situated on a house lined street right next to the forest. it totally reminded me of our dear redwood forest in arcata, ca. we even experienced a few big drops of rain which added to the pleasantness we were already feeling.

our thoughts on flagstaff: probably a great place to live if you're the outdoorsy-food-loving-college-bound-type.

Day 10-14 (7.29- 8.02.09) New Mexico

Day 10: after another long day of driving, we stopped in Dulce, NM, to stay at the Jicarilla Inn & Casino. essentially, the inn & casino is part of the Jicarilla Apache nation, and we were excited to stay. did you know i'm part apache (not Jicarilla)?


Day 11: we drove up to nick's mom (Linda) & husband's (Jeff) beautiful home in taos to see this sweet, sweet handmade banner. we spent some time settling in before looking at our newly posted wedding photos. we then were treated to an amazing-in-every-way dinner at The Stakeout. we began the extravaganza by sitting outside on the wrap-around patio to enjoy the sunset and a bottle of Silver Oak, 2004, cabernet savignon, and several appetizers that have inspired me to cook/create new recipes (more on this in future posts). supreme! if you're in taos, or planning to go, or even if you're not, you MUST eat here! everything was perfect. i'm obsessed with food, so i could go on and on with many facts and details. but, i'll spare you. just check the menu yourself, here.


we had a special dessert waiting for us once we returned to Linda & Jeff's. perched on top were 2 individually carved ravens made by people from the Zuni nation. i'll have to take some photos which highlight all their details. the tart was handmade, of course, by Linda. you could taste all the love mixed in with the cream cheese and strawberries. delicious!


Day 12: breakfast table setting.


at taos pueblo.


taos pueblo.


fry bread with cinnamon & sugar.

Day 12: we spent some time at Taos Pueblo, looking at the adobe structures, and the many, many open shops that featured handmade jewelry, pottery, food, and more. i felt a little funny taking photos of the people who live and work here, and their goods, so i refrained.


dinner table setting. i wish i had some better shots of Linda's detail-perfect table scapes.


this carved sculpture was sitting in the garden space outside of the Wired coffee shop. the coffee and cappuccino's were fantastic, but even more impressive was this garden-courtyard-sitting area-with sculptural water fountains which led to individual walk ways and doors of independent artists' work spaces, Wired, and get ready...a Psychiatrist's office. being a therapist myself, i can't imagine a better way to mentally prepare for clients than sitting in an area such as this. i'd hope clients could find the same serenity. so... anyone in the greater LA area know of any such spaces, or want to try to make one? let me know.

Day 9 (7.28.09) Bryce Canyon & Oak Creek

Day 9: you're not seeing things, we ARE wearing the same outfits in every picture we've taken in the last few days. our philosophy: why get clean clothes dirty, continue dirtying the dirty ones.


Bryce Canyon is more amazing than i ever thought.


the Hoodoo.

big ups to Utah in general. well, except for a few things (it's a public blog, probably shouldn't be too harsh). if you are interested, you should take the scenic route while driving through the southern part of the state. the sights were incredible. while we drove, i kept telling nick, "we'd be in the middle of nowhere, but i could imagine having a vacation home here." even during the summer months, southern Utah is likely to experience lots of rain, meaning, you'll see beautiful trees, grasses, and foliage during even the warmest of months.


we drove for 7 hours, and spotted a small camp site, Oak Creek, in Dixie National Forest. it was too pretty not to stop. have you ever seen a forest of aspen trees blowing in the breeze? it looks kinda like the glimmering letters on a sparklets water truck (but waaaay better).


we set up camp flush against the creek. geeg couldn't help herself, she drank right from the creek almost immediately.

i'm a huge camper, and have been for a long time, but, i'll be completely honest... we shared the camp ground with one lone camper-biker-guy, and he scared me a little. nick thought he was just a lonely passer-through, but i wasn't entirely convinced. oak creek bonus: serious lightning/thunder storm and about 15 minutes of heavy rain. it was really cool to see our entire tent lit up from the lightning. geeg is sensitive to sounds (she's emotionally equivalent to that of a 2 year old human), but she was a champ through and through. i covered her bum with a blanket and scratched her continuously, and she soon fell asleep.